AN Italian tourist has had surgery after his jaw was broken outside Werribee railway station on Saturday.
The man, 20, was sitting at a bus stop on his way back from the CBD about 2.30am on Australia Day when four young people appeared and snatched his skateboard.
Police said that when the Brescia man asked for it back, he was punched at least six times in the face. The blows broke his jaw and knocked out two teeth.
He was left bleeding in the street until police arrived and a friend rushed him to the emergency ward at the Werribee Mercy Hospital.
Another friend, who asked not to be named, said the attackers had “left him for dead”.
“He was bleeding everywhere, shocked and in pain and his jaw was completely crooked.”
The victim had been in Australia for seven days before the attack.
He was transferred to Footscray hospital’s intensive care unit later that morning to have an operation on his jaw, which had been broken in three places. A police spokeswoman said police would obtain video surveillance footage and were appealing for witnesses with information to contact them.
Information to Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000.
